Moviegoers Spot Spielberg`s Touch, Flock To Theaters

In Boca Raton they`re lining up an hour early and cramming into the front rows, while in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach theater managers are expecting sellout crowds.

What is drawing the crowds is not a concert or a play.

Instead, thousands of county residents are turning off their television sets and going to the movies to see Back to the Future, a film some theater managers said may be one of the summer`s hottest movies.

``It`s selling out every show,`` said Camille McGilvray, manager of the Boca Mall 6. ``People are showing up an hour early.``

The Steven Spielberg movie, which opened at six Palm Beach County theaters on Wednesday, is drawing crowds because it has wide appeal, managers said.

``It`s a family picture,`` said McGilvray, adding that it has a PG rating. ``It`s bringing in more middle-aged people and kids.``

At the Cinema 70 in West Palm Beach, the movie sold out its 7:45 p.m. Friday show and more sellouts are expected.

Manager Bert Giumetti said he believes the film`s wide appeal has been in part responsible for the long lines.

``I think the PG rating is certainly a help,`` he said.

Like Giumetti, Matthew Halprin, the manager of the Movies Four Delray, is expecting bigger crowds during the weekend as word of the film spreads.

The big seller at Halprin`s theater is Cocoon, which also is selling out in Boca Raton.

Back to the Future, which stars Michael J. Fox from televison`s Family Ties and Christopher Lloyd, who played Jim in television`s Taxi, has received rave reviews from critics and moviegoers.

McGilvray said the Boca Raton theater had a sneak preview two weeks ago and asked viewers to rate the film.

``We had all excellents and three goods,`` she said.

The film is about a time-traveling teen-ager who returns to 1955 and meets his parents during their high school courting.

``You can tell right away that it is a Spielberg film,`` McGilvray said, adding that the unlikely combination of Fox and Lloyd works well.